rag muffin

She really doesn't always look like this. Ok, maybe she does the majority of the day... after the bow has been replaced several times and then finally goes missing. Because we are growing the bangs out, there's just gonna be hair in the eyes... but I like my little rag muffin!

We are starting our weekend off early tomorrow. We are ready to have some crazy fun... we're talkin' life-celebratin', pumpkin-patchin', grandbaby spoilin', daddy and mommy actually get a date night fun! Lots of exciting things planned. We can't wait for Minnie, Papaw, Nana and Grandpa to get here! Hope your weekend is just as wonderful!

just you and me

Every Monday and Wednesday after we drop Embry and Ellie off at school, Hayes and I have our 'just you and me' time. I always look forward to it. If we have errands to run, we run errands but we always try and do something fun. I made the mistake of taking him to Krispy Kreme one of those first outings. Now he asks to go to Krispy Kreme all the time. So we really have to find something that trumps the donuts. And that's no small feat with this kid. He loves the donuts.

So today we went to check out a new park, picked up a Transformers video at Blockbuster and had a late breakfast/early lunch of pancakes at Mickey D's. His kind of morning and as it turns out, mine too.

I asked him what we should get Daddy for his birthday and he said, " How about a new car?" I said, "Well, I think Daddy really likes his jeep." He replies, "Well, how about a new engine for his jeep?" Hmmm, maybe I'll be better off getting suggestions from Embry and Ellie.

come out, come out wherever you are!

Dear Mr. Righty,

I have searched high and low and you are no where to be found. That's funny to me because you were just gracing Hayes' foot with your presence last night. Where could you have run off to in such a short time? Granted, Hayes is clearly the one who took you off and doesn't remember when and where that happened but don't you think you would have landed somewhere in the vicinity of Mr. Lefty? Speaking of Mr. Lefty, don't you miss him? You guys are buddies and you should stick together.

My major dilemma is this... you and Mr. Lefty are the uh, sole choice for the cooler weather. You're it. Numero uno. Unless you want Hayes to wear his fireman boots or his seen-better-days skate shoes (which he did today) to school, please show yourself!

Love,

Hayes' mommy

+++Update+++

My plan worked! I just knew that if I posted about it, that stupid shoe would show up. Sure enough... Kyle found it tonight in the mess of books. I'm telling ya, it wasn't there when I looked!

recipe junkie

Heaven knows I need to stop trying new recipes and start making the ones that I've stashed away in my keeper folder. Or at least stop looking for new ones. Let's just say that I have hundreds that are waiting for their judgement day. But I can't help myself. It's almost like a game to me. Can I pull it all together and produce a delicious victory? Will the fans go wild with approval? Will it be healthy, quick and cheap? Honestly, most new recipes I try are misses.... some really big misses. But those 'hits' every once in awhile keep me uh, hungry for more.

I'm going to try and occassionally post some keepers that I have come across. Here's one that we like.

Tortellini Warm Up Soup

Ingredients:

½ cup onion, minced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
¾ pound ground sausage, regular or Italian
4 cans crushed tomatoes
1 (32 ounce) can low salt chicken broth
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 (20 ounce) package cheese tortellini
parmesan cheese, for garnish

Instructions:

Cook sausage, onion and garlic in a stockpot until sausage is browned. Drain well.

Add crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, basil, italian seasoning and black pepper to stockpot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 6 minutes.

Add zucchini and tortellini and cook until pasta is done, approximately 10 minutes.

Garnish with parmesan cheese.

p.s. Kyle, please forgive me for the awful photoshop job... but time is of the essence my dear and well, you're better at it than I am.

have you had your sonic slushie today?

Too tired to write tonight. Here's a few pictures from one of our favorite after-school hangouts... the tree in our front yard. You'll notice that only one of my little friends has the original Sonic cup. The other two think it's fun to poke holes in theirs.

if the shirt fits, wear it twice

Apparently Hayes wore this shirt to school yesterday, slept in it and wore it to school AGAIN today. Oops! It was the first thing Kyle noticed when he came home tonight. And I'm supposed to be the observant one! Oh well, at least I made him put on nicer shorts and change his shoes before he went to school.

It is fun to see what ensembles he comes up with these days. Today he came downstairs and said, "Oh! I forgot my pants!" Don't worry Hayes. It happens to the best of us.

thumb sucker

Habits are hard to break. Hayes enjoys a good thumb suck and twist of the hair every now and then... especially when he is sleepy or watching a movie. It has always been this way. Well, it has really started bothering me the last year or two. We've had many a discussion about the importance of stopping, seeing that he goes to school now and the effect that it could have on his teeth. He has no desire to quit.

Enter the buzz cut this summer. I had this bright idea that if I buzzed his hair off, he couldn't twist it... then if he couldn't twist it, he would have no interest in sucking his thumb! Genius, right? So much for that idea. Instead of twisting, he was just as content with poking the little spikes with his finger, while sucking his thumb. Urgh!

Ok, so that didn't work. I then tell him about this yucky stuff at Walgreens that I can put on his thumb to help him stop. He tells me that if I do that, I won't be his mommy anymore. Ouch! So for weeks now, we have talked about (threatened) the yucky stuff at Walgreens. "Hayes, if you don't try on your own, we're going to Walgreens." I don't know how many times a day I ask him to stop. He will even do it behind my back. I will catch him ripping his thumb out of his mouth as I turn to talk to him. Sneaky little sucker!

I have since bought the yucky stuff, Thum. I just can't bring myself to use it. I felt awful buying it. To me, it's perfectly fine to use the stuff if you actually want to break the habit but he doesn't. It feels like I am stripping him of his 'security item' before he is ready. I don't want to scar the kid for life but I also don't want him dealing with this when he's in grade school!

I am determined to win this battle. Thumb way or another.